DIY: Homemade Chinese 5 Spice Powder

Homemade Chinese 5 Spice Powder & Rub

Powder Ingredients*:
1 Tbsp Star Anise
1 Tbsp Fennel Seed
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tbsp Ginger
*All ingredients need to be as finely ground as possible.

For my personal recipe, I ground the Star Anise and the Fennel Seed using my Mortar & Pestle.  I don't recommend this option if you don't have time or are suffering from any wrist/hand pain, it takes a lot of elbow grease!!

Directions:

1.  Combine all of the ingredients listed above in a small spice jar.

2.  Either shake or stir until well mixed.

3.  Use to season your favorite dishes.

Rub Ingredients:

2 Tsp Homemade 5 Spice Powder (From above recipe!)

1/2 Tsp Garlic Salt

1 Tsp All Purpose Flour

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients.

2.  Rub on your favorite meat, poultry or fish before grilling.

Stay tuned for my Five Spice Pan-Seared Salmon w/Orange Spinach recipe coming in this week's "From Mama B's Kitchen"! 

In the meantime, checkout these delicious, versatile recipes calling for Chinese 5 Spice Powder:

1.  Five Spice Glazed Salmon w/Sesame Green Beans

2.  Five Spice Turkey Cheeseburgers

3.  Five Spice Beef & Pepper Stir-fry

4.  Sweet Sesame Five Spice Popcorn

5.  Five Spice Seared Scallops & Shrimp

6.  Five Spice Pineapple Carrot Cupcakes

7.  Five Spice Chicken with Red Cabbage

8.  Five Spice Chicken Wings!

9.  Five Spice Ketchup

10.  Five Spice Beef in Oyster Sauce

Deep Breath In, Deep Breath Out

What a day I've just had!  Seriously, today was full of challenges, crazy temptations, and emotions.  Before I plunge you into the madness, let me just say that, I have really changed.  Not like, "Oh you hit your 30's"maturity boom, but more, "Wow, God is really changing me from the inside out" kind of change.

I've always been sort of a "hard" person - extremely tough on the outside, stoic, unshakable even.  Not. Any. More.  Lately, I have been repeatedly blindsided by my emotions, the outward display of them as well as the intensity.  I'm not on any hormones.  I am not a wimp.  I am just easily moved to deep feelings over things that I used to appear numb to.

Don't get me wrong...this post is not a complaint at all, more of a revelation or an "ah-ha."  I used to think that my inability to display emotion was a permanent part of my personality, but I've come to realize, over a lot of grueling soul searching over the last decade, that it was actually a self-defense measure I acquired in childhood.  I am realizing how it made me seem phony, and callus to many people who I genuinely care about and longed to connect with.  I fear I may have even lost out on friendships because people took my lack of emotion as indifference or contempt.  Brutal introspect aside, and as uncomfortable as my newly flowing emotions are making me, there is so much joy in knowing that the huge wall that kept me so reserved, is now down.  I feel, ALIVE!

I am vulnerable and it feels great.  There, I said it.  So, about today, already...

Top 5: October 2011 Events

Oh October, the month where days turn a little darker, a little colder and remind me how very few of them are left in the year!!  Looking forward to:

1.  Date Night! I am slightly embarrassed to admit that Jerry and I have not been out for a date in many months.  That is all about to change!  We have a sitter booked for the evening and will be heading out for a little romance - all a surprise to me at this point.  Can't wait to follow up with a post for that night!

2.  Mom's Group! I volunteered to host a mom's group (sans kids) on Thursday evenings (bi-weekly) starting on the 6th.  I am not only excited to dig into another meaningful study of God's word, but to reconnect with some ladies I have not seen for most of the Summer.

3.  Family Visit!  My wonderful mother and father in-law will be joining us the second weekend of the month and we have already begun to plan a trip to farm for fall festivities including: apple picking, pumpkin picking, hayrides, corn mazes and petting fuzzy little farm animals.  I can't wait for Zion to experience this for the first time, and in the company of her grandparents!

4.  Fall Festivals!  New York City has a ton of kid-friendly events to celebrate fall.  While Jerry and I are not big on Halloween itself, we are fine with Zion experiencing the fun of the non-scary activities.  We'll be hoping to attend a few different events, possibly the Madison Square Park Fall Kids Fest, Halloween Parade & Pumpkin Sail and the 69th Street Halloween Block Party.

5.  Baking/Cooking with Fall Ingredients: This year I plan to make my first ever Pumpkin Pie, Fresh Spiced Apple Cider with my juicer (and the apples we pick), Pumpkin Bread, delicious roasted Acorn Squash and so much more!  Don't worry I will definitely be posting up recipes as often as I can!

What are your plans for October?  What do you love about Fall?

Lessons Learned: Seasons of Lack

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When Jerry and I moved back to NYC in the Fall of 2009, we had no idea that we'd be literally living out of our car, and at the grace of good friends for the first whole month. We had spent the last year and a half completely oblivious to the very real struggles that the dwindling economy were causing people in places outside of Southern Louisiana.

We were reading the articles and seeing the news about millions of Americans being jobless, but we weren't feeling the effect at all. We were in a bubble, making above average and paying below average, in the small community where we lived.

When we knew it was time to head back to NYC, we just packed up our car, made arrangements with a friend to stay for what we thought was going to be a week or so, (just until we got an apartment and jobs) and hit the road. It was a complete shock when finding an apartment became a nightmare, and jobs were few and far between. It became less about choosing a career path for ourselves, and more about just finding a job for some income.

After about 3 weeks at our friends house, we knew our welcome was wearing out, and we headed to a hotel in New Jersey where we reflected on the absolute madness of our very miscalculated plan to just "wing it" when we got back in the city.

Recipe of the Week: Cowboy Flank Steak w/Mini Cheddar Potatoes

Jerry and I LOVE trying out new recipes.  I enjoy cooking so much...I could try a new recipe every night, and often times I DO!!  I find that this is the best way to become inspired and familiar with flavor combinations, spices and other unfamiliar ingredients.

Confession time...so I found this amazing cookbook in the "Just added"section of my local library, like three months ago.  And, despite it being LONG overdue and the fines adding up, I have not been able to part ways with it.  Don't judge me! It is the BEST recipe book I have come across in a long time.  I know I need to give it back, but I just don't want to.  Don't worry, I am going to turn it back in, but I am not even going to blink an eye about the fines...my obsession with it is worth every dollar.

So this week's recipe comes straight from my most favorite cookbook of the moment!